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Charges filed against registered sex offender

A man is in the Van Buren County Detention Center after deputies found a homemade explosive device at his home, according to the sheriff’s office.

On Oct. 22 a warrant was issued for the arrest of Theodore Terrill, a registered sex offender, because he had not reported to the sheriff’s office when he was supposed to, according to court documents.

On Oct. 24, deputies arrested Terrill, 48, at his residence on Gaslight Road. Contraband found on Terrill led to a search warrant being served on Terrill’s residence, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Investigators found an illegal weapon, and a homemade destructive device, the news release said. According to court documents, deputies seized a pipe gun made to shoot 12 gauge shotgun ammunition. They also seized a gray tube wrapped in Duct tape. The tube had a fuse on one end and was made to look like a bomb, the documents state. Terrill told deputies he made some of the items to “scare” people, the documents state.

In addition to Terrill’s original felony charge of failure to register, he has been charged with possession of a firearm by certain persons and criminal acts involving explosives, both Class B felonies. Terrill has previously been convicted of first-degree sexual assault.